Embedded Systems Circuits and Programming

Chapter 11

Timers and Counters

11.1  Controlling the Time Lapse

The mid-range PICs contain facilities and devices for controlling and manipulating time lapses in a program; these are usually in the form of timing and counting operations. It is difficult to find a PIC application that does not require some form of counting or timing. In the programs previously developed we have used a simple iteration counter that produces a delay by means of a loop that implements a delay by wasting a series of machine cycles. In this chapter we expand the theory and the use of delay loops, and explore the use of the built-in timing and counting circuits on the 16F84. The material presented relates to Chapter 10 because timing and counting operations can be set ...